Pennsylvania Turnpike - History

History

The Pennsylvania Turnpike was planned in the 1930s in order to improve transportation across the Appalachian Mountains of central Pennsylvania. The roadway utilized seven tunnels that were bored for the abandoned South Pennsylvania Railroad project in the 1880s. The highway opened on October 1, 1940 between Irwin and Carlisle as the first long-distance limited-access road in the United States. Following its completion, several other toll roads and the Interstate Highway System were built. The highway was extended east to Valley Forge in 1950 and west to the Ohio border in 1951. The tollway was completed to the New Jersey border at the Delaware River in 1954; the Delaware River Bridge opened in 1956. In the 1960s, the entire highway was made four lanes wide by adding a second tube at four of the tunnels and by bypassing the other three. Since then, many other improvements have occurred, such as the addition of new interchanges, the widening of portions of the highway to six lanes, and the reconstruction of the original section. An interchange is planned at I-95 that will fill a gap in that route.